The versions of the songs and instrumental pieces on the present CD are
thus drawn from across Europe, but concentrate on the migration eastwards,
as far as the shores of the Bosphorus. The double CD format gives the opportunity
for a rather different presentation of the material: the common practice
in recordings of Sephardic music is to alternate vocal and instrumental
pieces, and to ring the changes in terms of pace and mood. So, to take to
instrumental CD first, four of the tracks are quite long -- (between eight
and eleven minutes) -- which enables the music to unfold gradually and, as
it were, organically. There are even affinities, most obviously in the final
track which features the sarod playing of Ken Zuckerman, with the Indian
raga.

This is a sound-world which does not make the strongest impact on first
hearing. The impression will probably be of a homogeneity in which one piece
merges all too easily with another. But repeated listening reveals a range
of different musical patterns and shapes, enhanced by subtle combinations
of instruments. And though the human voice is absent, always a solo instrument
presents the melody in a way which somehow captures the essence of a truly
vocal line. It may be the flute, the mediaeval lute, or the viola
or rebab of Jordi Savall himself, one of the acknowledged masters of his
instrument. He creates a tone that is, appropriately, melancholy and plangent;
at times quite painfully beautiful.

I should be sorry to be without these sensitive and subtle performances.
However, my enthusiasm for this disc can in no way be extended to include
the vocal offering on the first CD of the set. The reason is simple, and
may be purely personal: I find the vocal mannerisms of the soloist, and
long-time collaborator of Jordi Savall -- Montseratt Figueras -- almost unbearable
to listen to. Over the years, she has cultivated a style of ornamentation
which involves elaborate swoops and trills, in every lineof
every song. It was not always so. If you listen to the recordings
she made in the mid seventies, such devices are used sparingly and in a
way that, arguably, strengthens the sense of the words being sung.